Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said the Canadian government’s safe supply policy is senseless and destructive, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “The drug policy has to be completely reversed,” said Poilievre in a speech at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. “I am to the point I don’t even know what motivates the policy right now.”If Canada wants to get out of the opioid crisis, Poilievre said cabinet must “break the cycle of addiction that is raging out of control in our country.”“At first, I thought it was just sort of a naive Utopianism that was driving this idea of giving out free drugs and decriminalizing these poisons,” he said. “But now the evidence is so clear that it has been a nightmare, you have to ask yourself, what is motivating this policy?”The House of Commons upheld the safe supply policy by a 209 to 113 vote in May. Poilievre sponsored a motion asking cabinet “immediately reverse its deadly policies and redirect all funds from taxpayer-funded hard drug programs to addiction treatment and recovery programs.”Health Canada disclosed in a January report safe supply had minimal impacts on addiction, despite costing $820.1 million. “People have continued to engage in opioid use behaviour that increases risk of harm,” said Health Canada.“Minimal changes since 2017 to rates of high risk substance use suggest further prevention efforts are required.”Health Canada acknowledged the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy has made significant progress in framing substance use as a social and public health issue in the country. However, the rates of substance use and related harms have continued to rise. Poilievre said the policy was ravaging communities and would be repealed by his government. “My common sense plan is to stop funding the distribution of drugs, stop funding these consumption sites which are not safe and instead invest in treatment and recovery services,” he said. Privy Council research showed in August Canadians were against the federal government’s safe supply policy. READ MORE: Canadians oppose Trudeau govt’s ‘safe supply’ drug policiesFederal focus groups said the experiment of decriminalizing opioids, cocaine and other drugs for personal use in BC resulted in more people becoming addicted to drugs.“Participants were mostly negative in their reaction to this decision and believed the federal government should instead be focused on discouraging opioid use, including implementing greater penalties for those using and distributing these substances,” said the Privy Council.
